Nintendo's newest IP is a bizarre blend of third-person shooting, turn-based strategy, aliens, Abraham Lincoln, and a comic book art style! Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is set in a steam punk alternate reality version of London, and you can get your hands on this unique adventure when it hits 3DS on March 13. In the meantime, our friends at GameXplain have already gone hands-on with it, and they've uploaded the game's opening cutscene! Click below to check it out.

After the massive success of
Shovel Knight, developer Yacht Club Games is about to unleash a gargantuan expansion on the world. Plague of Shadows has new bosses, a new story, a new protagonist and new play styles. Plague Knight uses explosives and concoctions in his quest to craft the Serum Supernus, the ultimate potion. The best part? It's absolutely free.

Head inside for all the details, along with tons of screenshots and artwork.

New Nintendo 3DS recently launched globally, and the first game to take full advantage of the improved hardware of the handheld is Xenoblade Chronicles 3D. Originally a Wii game, Xenoblade Chronicles was too big and complex for the regular 3DS, but the enhanced CPU allows the game to be played on the go with the new model.

If you never played the original and want to see what all the excitement is about or if you played it on Wii and want to know how it looks on New Nintendo 3Ds, we've got a new trailer for you that combines story and cinematic elements with gameplay to give you a good feel for the game. Click below to check it out!

Firmware update 9.5.0-23U is live right now for Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS, and on the surface it appears to be just a routine patch. The description just reads "Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience," but users have already discovered it also disables the "Regionthree" hack, which allows circumvention of Nintendo's region-locking restrictions. As far as we know so far, no other features are added or disabled with this firmware update.

Nintendo tends to stick to fairly traditional business and pricing models, but lately they've been trying out new (relatively speaking) ideas like DLC and looking for ways to provide consumers with cheaper games. Most notably, Nintendo launchedPokémon Shuffle two weeks ago on eShop as a free-to-play game, meaning it can be downloaded completely free of charge, and there are optional, in-game purchases to generate profits instead of a one time fee at the start.

We're not sure how much money they're making off of it, but it's definitely generating interest as over one million people have already downloaded the game. Should Nintendo take this as a positive sign and start making more free-to-play games, or should they stick with to one time purchases? Hit the jump to cast your vote and join the debate!

Are you still looking for a Marth Amiibo to round out your collection? Or, are you hoping to play as the hero king in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.? Well, this is good news for you!

We learned back in January that Marth figures would be returning to store shelves at some point, but we haven't heard a time frame until now; Nintendo of America has announced via Twitter that more Marth Amiibo will be headed to stores in late April. Hopefully, there will be plenty to go around.

During a recent interview with the Sonic Team's head developer, Takashi Iizuka was asked if the mobile game Sonic Runners would signal an end to to Sonic games on consoles. A member of the Sonic Stadiums forums was able to translate Iizuka's response.

Currently we don’t. Now this product only, select the smartphone as a friendly platform to the user’s, just say F2P and that was suitable for there. Personally, I don’t plan to stop Sonic for home-video game consoles. Don’t worry about them! And enjoy! — Takashi IizukaRead more after the jump!

The custom-made amiibo craze does not look like it's going to stop anytime soon. A fan recently created the rest of the Sonic squad, including Amy Rose, Knuckles, and Tails. Just like the Mewtwo amiibo, he removed actual amiibos from their base and then glued the Sonic figures onto them.

New Nintendo 3DS offers enhancements like an improved CPU and more buttons, and one indie developer has stepped forward to take advantage of them. Inti Creates has revealed that Azure Striker Gunvolt will receive a patch in Japan on March 11 that allows the game to take advantage of the newer hardware. The patch will speed up the game's loading times and allow for the ZL and ZR buttons to be used for quickly switching weapons. The patch will also add some new songs and Boss Rush mode. No details have been given yet for the patch's release outside of Japan.

It's been a long journey since Mighty No. 9 was first announced on Kickstarter. Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune departed from Capcom, and soon after all Mega Man games in the works at Capcom were cancelled. Inafune attempted to buy the rights to his old projects, but to no avail. As such, Mighty No. 9 was imagined as a spiritual successor to the Blue Bomber, and excited fans donated millions to make that idea a reality. We're almost there now (the game is slated to launch in the second quarter of this year), and you can check out some new screenshots of the nearly complete game by clicking below!